Apparatus for dispensing fragrance samples, printed cards, and coupons

ABSTRACT

A printed card dispensing assembly is provided wherein the dispensing mechanism is a self-contained lower unit and the printed cards are self-contained in an upper unit. The dispensing mechanism is a battery operated motor, gear train and friction wheel drive wherein the rotation of friction wheel is controlled by an optical sensor with a time delay that reads the reflection off a printed strip on the underside of the printed card. The entire apparatus is housed in a printed carton that incorporates a graphic identification and/or trademark.

This application claims benefits from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/868,647, filed Dec. 5, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,620 issued Oct. 28, 2003, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the advertising and sale of perfume and similar products. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing a perfume sample on a discount coupon or for dispensing other types of cards.

2. State of the Art

Perfume is advertised in multiple media and is generally sold at a point of sale counter in a retail store. As used herein, the word perfume includes cologne, eau de toilet, after shave, air freshener and similar scent products which can be dispensed in liquid form. Further, to the extent that a flavor can be sampled by smell, perfume is intended to mean such a flavor.

Although brand name recognition is important to perfume consumers so also is the actual scent of the perfume. More often than not, a perfume consumer will want to sample the scent of the perfume prior to purchasing a quantity of it. Perfume manufacturers have long sought to make sample fragrances available to consumers in order to entice the consumers to purchase a quantity of the perfume.

One type of device used to economically dispense samples of perfume is the sample atomizer. The atomizers are used at a point of sale display to spray a measured amount of the perfume into the air or onto the customer's hand or wrist. One disadvantage of the atomizer is that if it is sprayed into the air it is hard to get a good sample of the scent. However, if it is sprayed on the customer's hand or wrist, the number of different scent samples which can be made is effectively limited to two, one for each hand or wrist. Another disadvantage of the sample atomizers is that they are subject to theft if left unattended. Thus, a salesperson must be present in order for a perfume to be sampled.

Another common means for sampling perfume is the sample card sometimes known as “scratch and sniff” which is distributed in magazines or mailers. Although the “scratch and sniff” cards often fail to accurately reproduce the actual scent of the product, the use of a card is a good idea which has been adopted at point of sale demonstrations. Used in conjunction with sample atomizers, cards are used to sample many different scents at a point of sale display. The method involves the salesperson spraying a scent on an card and handing the card to the customer. The customer can bring the card close to her nose to sample the scent. Many scents can be sampled using different cards. However, as with sample atomizers used alone, a sales person must be present to prevent shrinkage.

The previously incorporated U.S. patent discloses a card dispenser which includes a built-in atomizer. The dispenser is operated by a simple control which dispenses a scent onto a card and ejects the card from the dispenser. The dispenser is preferably designed to be resistant to theft. In this regard, the size and appearance of the dispenser may be sufficient to dissuade a shoplifter. Alternatively, the dispenser can be locked to a display counter. Preferably, the cards are coated such that the perfume carried by the card can be applied by the customer to an area of skin. Alternatively, the cards can be absorbent which would allow the customer to sample multiple scents without one scent contaminating another. Optionally, the cards dispensed from the dispenser bear advertising indicia indicating the name of the perfume. According to another disclosed method, cards are provided with indicia indicating a discount coupon for the perfume purchase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A printed card dispensing assembly is provided wherein the dispensing mechanism is a self-contained lower unit and the printed cards are self-contained in an upper unit. The dispensing mechanism is a battery operated motor, gear train and friction wheel drive wherein the rotation of friction wheel is controlled by an optical sensor with a time delay that reads the reflection off a printed strip on the underside of the printed card. The entire apparatus is housed in a printed carton that incorporates a graphic identification and/or trademark.

This invention provides a space efficient and cost effective method of providing printed card sampling at retail stores.

The invention provides a low cost, one time use, disposable, automatic dispenser for printed cards that can be used at any retail point of sale. The printed cards may be redeemable coupons, recipe cards, business cards, or any other printed information that a marketer in a retail store would want to present to shoppers. According to the preferred embodiment, the cards contain microencapsulated perfume samples. The time delay feature on the dispenser discourages any shopper from emptying the dispenser by taking more than one card during the time delay period, typically 30-60 seconds.

The low cost mechanism with its attached stack of cards can be incorporated into point of purchase displays, or with the appropriate custom hardware be attached to shelving, display cases, kiosks, and other appropriate sales locations in the store adjacent to the products that the dispensed cards represent.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the exterior cover of an apparatus according to the invention with mounting apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an interior housing;

FIG. 3 is a cut away perspective view showing the interior of the housing;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the underside of a card with indicia;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the housing and its contents;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a carton cover designed to fit over the assembled housing;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit used to dispense cards;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a circuit board bearing the circuit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tabletop product display with a card dispenser incorporated therein; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a product display shelf with a card dispenser attached to the shelf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to FIGS. 1-6, an apparatus 10 according to the invention includes an outer carton 12 and an inner housing 14. The outer carton 12 is preferably imprinted with indicia, e.g. 16 and 18 which may include a trademark or logo 16 and a slogan or description 18. Optionally, the outer carton is provided with mounting hardware such as spring clips 20, 22 and double sided tape 24, 26. The inner housing 14 is preferably made of a lower portion 28, an upper portion 30 and a cap 32. The upper portion 30 and the lower portion snap together with four interlocks, two of which 34, 36 can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 5 The cap 32 is secured to the upper portion 30 by tape 38 (FIG. 5).

The lower portion 28 of the inner housing 14 houses a motor 40, a friction wheel 42, a circuit board 44, and one or more batteries 46. Depending on the type of batteries used, they may be mounted parallel to the motor 40 (FIG. 3) or perpendicular to the motor (FIG. 5). The motor 40 is electrically coupled to the circuit board 44 and mechanically coupled to the friction wheel 42 by a gear train 48 or by a pulley arrangement (not shown). The upper part of the lower portion has an inclined ramp 50 which defines two discontinuities 52, 54. The discontinuity 52 exposes a photo detector 53 mounted on the circuit board 44 and the discontinuity 54 exposes the friction wheel 42. A part 51 of the ramp 50 extends beyond the lower periphery of the lower portion 28.

When assembled as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper and lower portion define a slot 56 between the upper portion 30 and the ramp 50. Before putting the cap 32 on the upper portion 30, a stack 58 of cards 60 is placed in the upper portion 30 and a spring 62 is placed on the top of the stack 58. The cap 32 is then placed over the spring 62 and is affixed to the upper portion 30 with tape 38. The spring 62 should exert a gentle force on the stack 58 and should expand to the ramp 50 when there are no cards in the upper portion 30. After the lower portion 28, upper portion 30 and cap 32 are assembled with the cards and the spring, the inner housing 14 is placed inside the carton 12 which is provided with a slot 57 through which the part 51 of the ramp 50 extends.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, each card 60 is provided with a dark strip 64 along a portion of its length, followed by a light strip 66 along the remaining portion of its length. The card 60 may also bear indicia 68 on the same side or on an opposite side as the strips 64, 66. When the cards are placed in the upper portion 30 that are arranged so that the strips 64, 66 will pass over the photo detector 53.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 7 a, the circuit 100 on the circuit board 44 includes a microcontroller 102 which is preferably a PIC12F675 microcontroller available from Microchip Technology Inc., Chandler, Ariz. The microcontroller is coupled to a three volt power source 104, a photo detector 106 which is preferably an HLC1395 reflective sensor available from Honeywell International, Inc., Morristown, N.J., and the motor 40, preferably a Mabuchi FA-280RA-20120 available from the Mabuchi Motor Co., Japan, and from numerous electronic distributors in the US. As illustrated, the circuit also includes a ceramic resonator such as the ECS-SR-A available from ECS, Inc., Olathe, Kans. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the resonator may be omitted. The microcontroller is preferably coupled to the motor through a 2N7002 field effect transistor available from many sources including Diodes Incorporated, Dallas, Tex. The circuit as illustrated also includes three 10K ohm resistors, one 112, 114 on either side of the photo detector 106 and one 116 between the microcontroller 102 and the transistor 110.

As shown in FIG. 7A the photo detector 53 and the microcontroller 102 are mounted on the top side of the circuit board 44. The other components and a battery holder 118 are mounted on the bottom of the circuit board 44. The battery holder may be a Keystone 590 or 596 available from Keystone Electronics Corp., Astoria, N.Y.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that when the apparatus is assembled with the cards and battery or batteries, the motor will activate and push the bottom card over the ramp 50 and out of the slots 56, 57. In the illustrated embodiment, the motor will stop when the reflective stripe 66 passes onto the photo detector 53. It will be appreciated, however, that the location of the non-reflective stripe 64 and the reflective stripe 66 could be switched and the microcontroller could be programmed to activate the motor only when the reflective stripe is over the photo detector. When a card has been advanced by the motor to extend through the slots, the card can be grasped and pulled out of the apparatus by a consumer. According to a presently preferred embodiment, when a card is removed from the apparatus, the microcontroller waits a programmed interval before activating the motor to dispense the next card.

FIG. 8 illustrates a tabletop or counter display 200 containing a plurality of perfume bottles, e.g. 202 and having a vertical placard 204. The card dispenser 10 according to the invention mounted on a portion of the display.

FIG. 9 illustrates a shelving unit 300 containing a plurality of perfume bottles, e.g. 302. The card dispenser 10 is mounted to the shelving unit using the spring clips 20, 22 described above with reference to FIG. 1.

There have been described and illustrated herein an apparatus for dispensing cards. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its spirit and scope as claimed. 

1. An apparatus for dispensing cards one at a time, comprising: a housing defining an interior storage space and a slot in communication with said interior storage space; a stack of cards contained in said interior storage space with one of said cards adjacent said slot; a friction wheel arranged adjacent to and frictionally engaging said one of said cards adjacent said slot; an electric motor coupled to said friction wheel in a manner such that operation of said motor causes said friction wheel to rotate and move said one of said cards adjacent said slot out of said slot; a sensor electrically coupled to said motor; a power source electrically coupled to said sensor; said sensor being adapted to sense when said one of said cards adjacent said slot is not extending out through said slot and to couple said power source to said motor; and said sensor being adapted to sense when said one of said cards adjacent said slot is extending partially out through said slot and to decouple said power source from said motor.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said sensor is an optical sensor and said cards are imprinted with indicia which is detectable by said optical sensor.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: said sensor is a reflective sensor and said indicia are arranged so that part of each card is reflective and part of each card is non-reflective.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a microcontroller electrically coupled to said sensor, said power source and said motor.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: said microcontroller is programmed to wait a period of time between said sensor sensing when said one of said cards adjacent said slot is not extending out through said slot and coupling said power source to said motor.
 6. An apparatus according to 1, wherein: said cards are imprinted with indicia conveying a message to a consumer.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said cards carry a perfume sample.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: said cards carry a perfume sample.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said cards are discount coupons.
 10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said cards are business cards. 